20 Most Mysterious Places in India

20 Most Mysterious Places in India

India is a land of mystics and mysteries. There are as many stories
as there are people. Those who believe that India is all snake-charmers
definitely need to brush up their knowledge of the country. There are
not just snake-charmers, we have ghosts, avatars, strange phenomenon and
stranger beliefs too.

Here are 20 places that stand out for being unusual and mysterious.

20. Karni Mata Mandir – Temple of Rats in Rajasthan

The Karni Mata temple is located in a small town called Deshnoke in
Rajasthan. Its claim to fame is the huge number of rats that are revered
here. The temple has about 20,000 rats roaming its premises.Quirk factor: Food nibbled by the rats is considered exceptionally holy. If a rat is killed, it has to be replaced by a rat of gold!

18. Floating Islands of Loktak in Manipur

The Loktak Lake in Manipur, also known as the only Floating Lake in the
world, poses a strange sight with large masses of vegetation, perfectly
circular in shape, floating on the surface.
These are called Phumdis and
areclusters of vegetation, soil and other organic matter. Some of these
floating ‘island’ are so large that resorts have been built on them.

17. Skeleton lake in Roopkund

The Roopkund Lake or the Mystery Lake OR the Skeleton Lake is a stunning glacial lake in Uttarakhand,
and is called so because of the scores of human skeletons that were
found in it.
Yes, somewhere at 1600-feet above sea level, in a lake that
remains frozen for most part of the year, mass deaths happened. These
skeletons, which were discovered by a forest ranger in 1942 (the
horror!), have been dated back to the 9th century. Local
legend believes that the skeletons belong to the troupe of a king from
Kannauj who was travelling with his pregnant wife and servants, and died
in a hailstorm at Roopkund.

16. Great Wall of India – Kumbhalgarh Fort

Kumbhalgarh is a massive fortress situated 82 kms from Udaipur in Rajasthan.
The walls of this fortress constitute a perimeter of around 36 kms, and
are said to be the longest wall in India, and the second longest in the
world, after China’s Great Wall. What’s more, the walls house 300
temples. And no, it’s not visible from space.

15. Bhangarh Fort

One of the most famous haunted places in India, Bhangarh is located in
Alwar in Rajasthan. The place is know for its ruins – of temples,
havelis, shops, and a palace. Staying overnight at the fort has been
prohibited by the government as it is believed that the fort is haunted
by ghosts at night. Locals also believe that there is a night market
behind the palace, which is invisible to the human eye.

14. Malana, Himachal Pradesh

It is considered as the oldest civilisation in the country, and does not
associate itself with Indian governance. The inhabitants of the place
believe themselves to be descandants of Alexander and his soldiers, and
thereby superior to the rest of the Asian races. Touching them or their
houses is not allowed and a fine of Rs 2000 is imposed on offenders. All
this probably puts a cosy cloak on the hash trade that thrives in this
tiny Himalayan settlement. Malana crean is believed to be one of the
best and smoothest hash varities in the world.

13. Great Banyan Tree, Kolkata

The Great Banyan Tree located in Indian Botanical Garden in Howrah is
the widest and the oldest tree in India. It has stood strong for 200
years and has faced two cyclones, a fungus attack, lightning. With 3300
aerial roots spreading far and wide, the tree is more like a dense
forest.

12. Bullet Baba in Rajasthan

Om Banna (real name: Om Sing Rathore) was a biker who died when his
motorcylce fell into a ditch on the Pali-Jodhpur highway in Rajasthan.
The police came and took possession of the bike. But the next morning
the bike was found at the accident spot. When the police seized the bike
again, this time chaining it, it was still found at the accident site
the next morning. What was even more spooky was that the fuel tank of
the bike was empty. The spot has now been made into a shrine named
“Bullet Baba Temple” and travellers, especially bikers, stop by to pay
their tributes to Om Banna.

11. Magnetic Hill, Ladakh

Cars seem to roll uphill on their own here, apparently being pulled by
the hill’s magentic properties. It is located in Leh-Ladkah. If you know
anything about gravity hills, you would figure out the mystery behind
this strange phenonmeon. In reality it is an optical illusion. Go
figure.

10. Kodinhi Village of Twins, Kerala

This tiny village’s claim to fame is the high number of pairs of
twins found here. The village’s population is 2000 and the number of
twin pairs is 350. Kodinhi has one of the world’s highest twinning
rates, while India comes in the league of the lowest twinning rates.
Almost every family here has twins. This gives rise to a lot of
confusion – the most difficult one being that among couples.
Here too scientists have been left dumbfounded as no clear finding has been able to explain the Sita-Gita phenonmeon.